Thanks Keith will check them out had some of their trainers as I remember they did last a while before the inevitable,the more I seem to read is that if they last a year your doing fine,perhaps l expect to much only have one pair of boots that I wear every day morning till night work ,detecting,garden and general tasks,mind you do have wellies and they last years. 
I think the problem is, most walking shoes and boots look tough but they rarely get the true test from the average user. I have seen serious walkers on You Tube who have pounded the trails and hills, and the average mid range pairs are often falling apart in a few months.
Most people are trotting round the local nature trails and strolling on compacted walkways, so the boots don't really get any harsh surfaces. When we start pushing down on spades, I think it exposes weaknesses in the sole materials. Often they crack and split under the pressure.
I had a great pair of walking boots and a spade with a small footplate destroyed them in a few weeks. I do find the flatter and wider plate on the Blackadder spades makes a real difference as the pressure is spread over a decent area of the sole, and the plates are very smooth on the "Adders"
